The Glowing Night Sky
by Cuthbert72
Summary: Neville and Luna embark on an unsuccessful quest for the crumple horned snorkack. they are overwhelmed by the beauty of the Northern Lights. There will be three, possibly four chapters
1. Chapter 1: Over Land and Sea to Kiruna

**A/N I do not own any of the characters. They belong to J K Rowling. The O/C is Arvid Eriksson, a Swedish wizard, who is a close associate of Xenophilius Lovegood.**

Chapter 1: The Journey

Luna had, at last, persuaded her husband to accompany her on what was her father's ultimate quest, the search for the crumple horned snorkack. He would not be coming with them, as old age had caught up with him. In any case, his work on 'The Quibbler' kept him in Britain. Xenophilius had indicated to Luna that the best places to look for the snorkack were the extreme north of Sweden and the adjacent parts of Norway and Finland - in a word, Lapland. He also indicated that the best time of year would be late September to November, when the beasts were preparing for hibernation.

Between August and October that year, apparating between Britain and Europe was hazardous, particularly when solar storms were frequent, as they were that Autumn. Therefore, the couple decided to use muggle transport. They decided to use surface transport as Luna had her doubts about aeroplanes. Accordingly, they decided to travel by Train from London to Newcastle, ferry to Amsterdam, overland to Bergen, and then board one of the cruise ferries which ply up and down the Norwegian coast, calling at various ports on the way. They appreciated that this was going to take some time, but fortunately time was not a limiting factor. In any case, it would mean that they would be spending a lot of time together while travelling. Both of them were looking forward to this aspect of the expedition.

Xenophilius had provided details of a wizard called Arvid Eriksson, who was also a magizoologist. He lived on the outskirts of Kiruna in Northern Sweden. He would provide accommodation for the couple. Since he also believed in the existence of the snorkack, he would be of considerable assistance in locating it.

Having arranged their transport, Neville and Luna visited Xenophilius before setting out on their search. He contacted the Swedish wizard and indicated to him approximately when the couple would be arriving in Kiruna. Because of the ports visited by the coastal ferries, they would have to disembark at Tromsø and travel overland back to Narvik to board the train to Kiruna.

At last the day of departure came. Luna was excited, but Neville was a bit apprehensive as he had never been on a ship on the open seas before. Luna reassured him that it was quite safe. The first part of the journey form Kings Cross to Newcastle reminded both of them of the beginning of their many journeys on the Hogwarts Express. Once they were on the ferry, Luna assured Neville that they could relax. The weather was quite windy and the ship did move about quite a bit as it crossed the North Sea. Neville, to his surprise found this relaxing. One factor contributing to this was probably that Luna's gentle arms were cradling him for much of the overnight crossing.

The next part of her journey took them from Amsterdam to Copenhagen, then across the Øresund bridge into Sweden. Rather than travelling overland to Kiruna, they went via Oslo to Bergen in Norway.

After their epic European train journey, they boarded the ferry which would eventually take them to Tromsø. They now had three days of relaxation and togetherness.

To say that Neville was impressed by the fjordland scenery would have been an understatement. He was overwhelmed. He stood on the deck behind Luna, his arms round her waist.

"At last, scenery as beautiful as you." said Neville.

"I think you really mean that." said Luna.

"I always say what I mean." said Neville, "You know that. This place is amazing. Are you glad I came along?"

"Of course, sweet Neville." said Luna, "The expedition wouldn't have been the same without you. I would have come anyway, and I would have extended the expedition to other parts of the world. We would have been apart for over two years. You would probably have forgotten all about me when I returned."

"Never!" exclaimed Neville, "You will always be a part of me. Even if I did form a relationship with someone else, there would still be a Luna shaped void in my heart. In any case, we're married and I wouldn't betray your love."

"How did these fjords form?" asked Luna.

"Tens of thousands of years ago, during the ice age," said Neville, "These valleys were filled with ice. Glaciers were slowly flowing down them, grinding the rocks and making them really deep. When the ice age ended, the glaciers melted. The sea level rose. The water flowed in and partly filled them, leaving the fjords you see today."

"Wow!" exclaimed Luna, "You seem to know a lot more than Herbology."

"I didn't just study plants," said Neville, "but also the geological history of the places where they grow. I found that part of it really fascinating."

"You seem to know a lot more than you let on." Said Luna.

For the next three days, Neville and Luna settled down to life on board the ship. Briefly exploring the ports where they docked for several hours. The weather was cloudy for much of the voyage northwards, so they didn't see much of the sun or the stars. However, they did make use of the ship's facilities and attended some of the on-board lectures. One of these was about Roald Amundsen's successful expedition to the South Pole.

Their arrival in Tromsø coincided with a brief clearance in the weather, which was fortunate, as they were going to spend a couple of days there before their departure for Narvik. They also visited the Polar Museum and learnt more about Roald Amundsen's expedition. Neville's interest in World War Two battleships also took them to the war museum, as the Tirpitz was sunk in the harbour at Tromsø.

At last it was time for them to leave Tromsø and take a bus to Narvik. From there, they would take a Swedish train to Kiruna. When their train pulled into the station at Narvik, Luna would contact Arvid Eriksson, their wizarding contact in Sweden. He would meet the train at Kiruna.

The bus journey was scenic, as they were travelling through fairly mountainous territory with numerous Lakes.

"I'd love to see this when there's snow on the ground." said Luna, "It'd be so beautiful."

"And very cold." remarked Neville.

At last the bus arrived at Narvik rail station. The couple disembarked and waited for the train, which would take them on the last leg of their journey.

The best thing that can be said about the train journey was that it was interesting. It could not be described as uneventful. The train left the environs of Narvik and climbed into the mountains. It then stopped, drove forward into a tunnel then reversed out again. It did this three times before proceeding on its way to Kiruna. This worried Neville, but Luna accepted it as part of the adventure and remained tranquil throughout this rather unusual progress.

It was nearly dark when Neville and Luna reached Kiruna station. They were met by Arvid Eriksson, who they discovered, was not averse to using muggle forms of transport. His car was a large Volvo estate car. It had the same modifications as Arthur Weasley's Ford Anglia. It could fly and also become invisible.

"Hello you two." said Arvid, "Have you had an enjoyable journey?"

"A long one." said Neville, "Luna worked out a surface route, since she has her doubts about aeroplanes. We had to travel via Amsterdam, since we couldn't sail direct to Norway."

"Anyway," said Arvid, "Not far now. Pity it's clouded over, although it's supposed to clear again in the next day or so. The stars are amazing where I live because there are very few street lights."

"That will be so wonderful." said Luna, "I really love starlight."

"That's good." Said Arvid, "If the sky is clear, you'll get plenty of that here."

The couple loaded their luggage into the back of the car. Neville and Luna made themselves comfortable in the rear seats. Once they were under way, Arvid operated the invisibility device and then took off. They were to fly about twenty miles away from Kiruna itself.

"Do you know Arthur Weasley?" asked Arvid.

"We don't know Arthur very well," said Luna, "But Ginny, his daughter is my closest friend."

"We got to know several of his sons while we were at Hogwarts," said Neville, "Particularly Ron. He was in my year."

"Arthur showed me how to modify this car," said Arvid, "So I can travel rapidly around this part of Sweden in comfort without being seen."

After about twenty minutes of flight, Arvid touched a button on what looked like a smartphone on the dashboard. Immediately lights appeared in front of them. He landed the car gently and vertically on the drive of a remarkably normal looking house. Just as he landed, he touched the button again and the lights that had indicated the location of the house were extinguished, leaving only the porchlight at the front door.

Letting the couple in, Arvid introduced them to his wife, Freja and made them comfortable in the lounge. Freja served coffee and joined them, while Arvid prepared for what they were proposing to do the next day. As soon as she joined them, she sensed something about the couple.

"You two have had interesting lives." said Freja, "I can sense that both of you have lost parents when you were children. I also sense that you are deeply in love with each other and with life."

"That's true." said Luna, "Neville's my rock. We met at Hogwarts as a pair of slight outcasts. We fell in love. Now, I can't imagine life without him. He's so special."

"If I'm not intruding on private matters, Neville," said Freja, "What happened to your parents? I know how Luna's mother died. Xenophilius told us about it. So sad. She was beautiful."

"When I was tiny," said Neville, "Voldemort and some dementors came to our house and tried to kill them. They nearly succeeded. Perhaps it would have been better if they had. They're in St. Mungo's. They are alive, but don't seem to be part of this world. They barely acknowledge my presence when I see them."

"That is tragic." said Freja, "So they are in a sort of living death. Who's looked after you since this happened?"

"My grandmother, Augusta." said Neville.

"What was she like?" asked Freja.

"Very strict," said Neville, "And not very encouraging. She led me to believe I was a nobody, a squib."

"What changed things?" asked Freja, "From what I've heard about you, you're a confident young man who played an important part in the battle of Hogwarts."

"I met Luna." said Neville, "She made me feel I was worth something."

"Worth enough to be a war hero from what I've heard." said Freja, "Luna's a wonderful young lady. Ah! Here's Arvid. I'll finish getting dinner."

Freja disappeared into the dining room, set the table, and then went to the kitchen to finish preparations for dinner. As the arrival time of their guests was not precise, she had prepared a reindeer stew. Arvid engaged the couple in conversation while Freja was preparing the dinner.

"This is a bit like venison." commented Luna, "What is it?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you." said Freja, "It's reindeer. It's probably the meat we have most often up here."

"How is Xenophilius?" asked Arvid, "I was expecting him to come with you."

"He says old age has caught up with him," said Luna, "But I suspect it's because he's working on a very special edition of 'The Quibbler'. He didn't want to interrupt the flow of his work."

"So he's sent his lovely daughter and her new husband." said Arvid, "Are you looking forward to our search, Luna?"

"Of course." said Luna, "It'll be an interesting adventure."

Arvid, Neville and Luna spent the next hour or so discussing their plans for the next few days. They decided that they would start out for the first location where the crumple horned snorkack might be found late afternoon the next day, since it was only about thirty miles away. They would be returning the same evening each day from this first location, but they would camp at the more remote places during the second and third weeks. Neville was a bit doubtful about camping, but Arvid assured him that his wizard's tent was warm and comfortable.

After these discussions, it was late. Neville and Luna were shown their bedroom, after which they enjoyed a hot chocolate nightcap.

Sleep came easily to them as they had been travelling almost continuously for the previous week. It was the first time they had slept in a bed in a private house for eight nights.


	2. Chapter 2: The Glowing Night Sky

**Chapter 2: The Glowing Night Sky**

Sunrise the following morning was bright and clear without a cloud in the sky. The previous evening's clouds had cleared. Neville and Luna were awakened by the rising sun as their bedroom faced East. Someone had opened the curtains during the night, so it was full sunshine that woke them.

Freja had prepared a substantial 'English' style fried breakfast as they had a long day in front of them. Before their evening excursion to possibly sight the snorkack, Arvid was going to show them round the local area.

Their first destination was the site of an extraordinary muggle hotel. As they started out on their tour, Arvid tried to explain it.

"You have just spent a comfortable night in a warm bedroom." said Arvid, "In this hotel, during the early months of the year, muggles spend nights in bedrooms at minus five degrees Celsius. The whole building is made of ice. It opens in December and closes in April. The muggles build a new hotel out of ice from the river each year. The surprising thing is, the guests actually enjoy it."

Arvid showed them the site of the hotel. They also went into the foyer where there were photographs of the previous winter's ice hotel. Since it was late September, there was nothing to be seen on the actual hotel site by a river. He explained that the hotel starts to be built each year in November and melts the next Spring. The melted ice just runs away into the nearby river.

"That's crazy!" said Luna, "Who would want to sleep in an icy bedroom. It makes me shiver just thinking about it."

"I agree." said Neville, "I hope your tent is warmer."

"I assure you it is." said Arvid, "Did you go to the Quidditch final the year it was disrupted by death eaters?"

"Yes, I did." said Neville, "The tent I slept in there was comfortable and warm."

"My tent is like that." said Arvid, "Don't worry. It's also dimensionally transcendent."

"What does that mean?" asked Neville.

"It's larger inside than it is outside." said Arvid.

The trio continued their tour with a trip round Kiruna itself, after which Arvid engaged the invisibility device and flew first along the local river and then over the lake they would be visiting later that day.

"The best place to look for the snorkack this evening is on the North shore of this lake." said Arvid, "I'm looking for somewhere to land this car. We'll drive as far as we can, then fly along the lakeshore to a smooth level area where we can touch down. Ah! That looks a good spot. It offers access to the local forest and good all round visibility. Let's check it out."

Arvid landed the car on the small spit of land, which jutted out into the lake. They got out of the car and tested the ground. It proved to be firm and solid, so they could use it as the base for the next evening. There appeared to be a couple of well used tracks leading into the forest. Arvid was not sure what made them, but he took them as a hopeful sign. Having chosen a location for their first base, Arvid placed a locator on the spit of land before they returned to his home for lunch.

"What did you just do?" asked Neville.

"I know it will still be daylight when we come back here," said Arvid, "But we might go somewhere else and come back after dark, so I put a locator beacon here. The car will find it."

"Why is that?" asked Luna.

"You'll find out." said Arvid, mysteriously.

While they had been away, Freja had prepared a substantial lunch. Fish from the local lake, grilled this time with vegetables and potatoes. This was followed, much to Luna's delight, by a sponge pudding with treacle. The reason for this repast was their late afternoon excursion. The 'evening meal' might comprise sandwiches, as they would be at the lakeside.

Arvid spent the next couple of hours preparing his car for the quest. He loaded the tent and some very strange looking equipment into the back.

Late that afternoon, the three set out for the first foray, to the lakeside place they had marked out earlier. They took off under a bright sunset and arrived at the lakeside peninsula after about thirty minutes. While it was still daylight, they explored the first hundred yards or so of the two tracks leading away from the clear area, then returned to the car. This evening's foray was mainly to listen for any unusual animal noises and for Arvid to show Luna the night sky.

As it got dark, Luna and Neville were able to appreciate the sheer silence of the place. There had been a major solar storm a couple of days earlier. What greeted Luna's eyes when she looked up at the sky both astonished and fascinated her. The sky was filled with multiple glowing red and green curtains, which seemed to move around randomly. The brighter ones had a tinge of red at their bases as well as their upper parts.

"Wow!" was all that Luna could say. She was totally entranced.

"That is so incredibly beautiful." said Luna, once she had recovered her composure.

"What is it?" asked Neville.

"It's the Northern Lights." said Arvid, "We get them on clear nights up here, although I haven't seen them so bright for a long time. I think they've put on a special show for you two this evening."

"What causes them?" asked Luna.

"Muggles tell me," said Arvid, "That they are the result of streams of particles from the Sun hitting the Earth's magnetic field. When the Sun is very active, as it is at the moment, they are brighter. Back in September 1859, they could be seen all over the World."

The trio forgot the quest for the snorkack for the time being, although they did keep their ears open for any unusual sounds. They spent the next hour or so watching the display, transfixed by it.

"Will they affect our flight back?" asked a slightly worried Luna.

"No." said Arvid, reassuringly, "They're over seventy miles up. My car can't fly that high. We'll just get a better view of them without these trees."

They were just thinking about getting ready to leave, when Neville's sharp ears detected a rustling sound in the forest.

"What was that?" whispered Neville.

"Keep perfectly still." whispered Arvid.

It wasn't the reason for their quest. After a couple of minutes, two reindeer trotted out of one of the tracks onto their spit of land, checked them out, had a drink of water and returned to the forest.

"Well, that was an interesting interruption." said Arvid as the two beasts departed up the other track, "Well heard, Neville. Your ears are sharper than mine."

At this point, they enjoyed jam sandwiches under the lights. Luna particularly enjoyed them as they were sweet. They spent a further half hour watching the sky before preparing to return to Arvid's home. The aurora had only diminished slightly in intensity when they took off. Luna gasped as she saw the extent of the Northern Lights from horizon to horizon.

"This is so amazing, so beautiful!" exclaimed Luna as they flew high over the lake.

Looking along the length of the lake, she could see the green 'curtains' reflected from the surface of the water.

After returning safely to Arvid's home, Neville and Luna went to bed with the curtains open, so they could watch the aurora before they finally dropped off to sleep. Luna was so transfixed by the aurora, that she stayed awake, watching it, until after three o'clock in the morning. Despite this, she still woke up when the bright Sun shone on her face. It was another bright, clear morning. Surprisingly the lack of sleep had not affected Luna. She had had less than three hours. Once again, a substantial breakfast greeted the pair when they went downstairs.

Arvid's plan for today was to go to the spit of land they had occupied the previous evening. They would spend most of the day looking along the two tracks, looking for evidence of snorkack activity. After all, commented Arvid, if reindeer used these tracks, so would the snorkack. After that, if they found nothing, they would depart for another likely place that Arvid thought the beast might be found. Since it was further away, they would camp for two or three nights before returning to the house.

Immediately after breakfast, Arvid loaded the food and water they would require into the car and they set off, by road this time. After they had driven round to a vehicle lay-by on the far shore of the lake, Arvid ensured that there was no-one about, rendered the car invisible and flew the short distance over the lake to the spit of land.

"What, exactly are we looking for?" asked Neville.

"Footprints, disturbance of foliage and, not to put too fine a point on it, droppings." said Luna.

At this point, Arvid produced a picture of what he believed was a crumple horned snorkack footprint. He also explained the difference between a reindeer dropping and that of the snorkack. After this, the trio explored the first mile or so of one of the tracks. At one point, Neville thought he had found a snorkack footprint, only to be told it was two coincident reindeer footprints facing in opposite directions. He did admit, however that it did look like the real thing. After this search, they returned to the car and enjoyed a barbecue lunch.

"It's not only the Aussies who can have a barbecue." commented Arvid.

"I used to think it was too cold for that kind of thing up here." said Neville, "but it's not too bad."

Before they set out on the investigation of the second track, Arvid set up some fishing gear at the edge of the lake. He cast a charm on it, so that it would place any fish it caught in the keep net. That way they would have fresh grilled fish for their dinner that evening. Once again, they started out and looked for evidence along the first mile or two of the second track. When asked why they did not look any further up these two tracks, Arvid explained that the snorkack rarely strayed very far from water. That was one of the reasons they were so rare. Again, apart from a couple of false alarms, they didn't find any definite evidence of snorkack activity. They returned to the car. Arvid dismantled the fishing equipment. There were three substantial fish in the keep net.

"Do you two want dinner now," said Arvid, "or shall we have it at the next place?"

"It's a bit early for dinner," commented Luna, "Let's have it at where we're going."

Arvid killed the fish and placed them in an insulated cold box, froze some water into small chunks of ice and packed the box with these.

"Magic is very useful when you can make ice with a wand." said Arvid, as he placed the box in the car.

Once everything was ready, Arvid retrieved the location device he had placed on the spit of land earlier and got into the car. The trio took off while it was still bright sunshine as Arvid wanted to land at the next destination with enough daylight to set up the tent. The journey to the second lake took about an hour. This time they landed on a fairly large expanse of treeless lakeside.

"Dinnertime, I think." said Arvid, as he set up the barbecue to grill the fish they had caught earlier. He then assembled the tent ready for the night. Once he had finished and cast charms around their camp site, it was time for dinner. Before preparing dinner, he got a table and three chairs from the tent and set them up.

"I think you'll like this." Said Arvid, as he disappeared into the tent with a few potatoes.

He returned about five minutes later, prepared the fish, placed them on the barbecue, and returned to the tent. When one side of the fish was cooked, Luna turned them over as requested. Just as they were ready, Arvid emerged from the tent with three plates, salt, pepper and a wire basket of chips. Just as the Sun was setting, Arvid, Neville and Luna settled down to a delicious fish and chip supper under the darkening sky.

This area of land offered a far wider view of the sky and the adjacent lakeside as the forest was further back. Arvid indicated that they would start looking for clues which might indicate the presence of the snorkack at dawn the next day.

"I hope you're ready for a lot of walking tomorrow." said Arvid, "There's a lot of forest to look through and a lot more animal tracks."

"Will we see the Northern Lights again tonight?" asked Luna.

"Almost certainly." said Arvid.

As he said this, the sky was darkening and the afterglow in the West was diminishing. The first indications of the aurora were beginning to show high above them. After about an hour of relatively low level activity, the sky suddenly came to life. If anything, the display was even brighter and more colourful than it had been the previous evening. The red tops of the curtains, stretching right up into space, were more obvious as were the red lower borders. Luna was totally fascinated by the display. She had almost forgotten why she was in Northern Sweden.

"We don't see this kind of thing where I live." said Luna.

"That's just as well," said Arvid, "Because if you did, all the muggle communication systems would fail."

"Why is that?" asked Neville.

"Neville, I believe your specialities are Herbology and the associated geology." said Arvid.

"Er - yes." Said Neville, hesitantly.

"Then you will have come across magnetic rocks." said Arvid.

"Yes." said Neville.

"Have you ever thought how they became magnetic?" said Arvid, "They are magnetic because the Earth is a huge magnet, and they pick up the planet's magnetic field. That magnetic field also interacts with streams of electrically charged particles from the Sun. That interaction is what produces the aurora. The more particles there are, the brighter the aurora. This week, there has been a solar storm, which has produced a lot of particles. If a solar storm was as intense as the one in September 1859, they would disable all the muggle communication satellites and disrupt large electrical power grids. Fortunately, all this storm is doing is producing very bright aurorae. Let's settle down and enjoy the show."

Neville, Luna and Arvid spent the next three hours watching the glowing night sky constantly changing its form until it was time to enter the tent, find their beds and sleep. During this time, they kept their ears open in case they heard any unusual sounds in the evening. Neville and Luna were pleased to find that Arvid's tent was very similar to those at the Quidditch final. Although it looked quite small from the outside, it had a lounge, a kitchen area and two ample bedrooms. Neville and Luna managed to drop off to sleep relatively quickly and woke up refreshed at dawn the next day.


	3. Chapter 3: Aurorae and Starlight

**Chapter 3: Aurorae and Starlight**

When they woke up the next morning, Arvid was already in the kitchen area preparing breakfast, bacon, eggs and sautéed parboiled potatoes.

"You certainly do good breakfasts up here," said Luna, as she sat with Neville at the table, "Even in your tent."

"We're only going to have a light snack for lunch," said Arvid, "So we're having a big breakfast."

Luna tucked into her breakfast with relish. She felt that a good meal at the beginning of the day put her into a better mood.

After breakfast, the trio set out on their quest. They headed for the forest, and noted that at least four animal tracks led away from the peninsula on which they had camped.

"Keep your eyes open for unusual tracks," said Arvid, "And you ears open for unusual sounds, and move as silently as possible. We don't want to spook the beasts. Fortunately, the wind is blowing off shore, so they shouldn't pick up any scent from us."

The trio set off quietly into the forest. They carefully followed each of the eight tracks, looking for unusual signs. Neville was occasionally diverted from the search when he found an unfamiliar plant, but since he was looking down at the earth, he had the best chance of discovering strange footprints. Luna, meanwhile, was looking at the foliage at head height, looking for signs of it being bitten by the snorkack. After they had searched the first four forest tracks, somewhat fruitlessly, it was lunchtime. Rather than returning to the car, they decided to go to the top of a small hill and have their picnic lunch there. From this point, they could see the whole of the lake. The morning's clouds had cleared and it was a bright, sunny noontide.

"This is beautiful in a desolate sort of way." said Luna, "I like it. It seems so wild, and I love the big skies. They dominate the landscape."

"You wouldn't like it so much in Winter," said Arvid, "When the temperature is minus forty and there's several feet of snow. Oh, and the Sun doesn't even bother to rise from about the eleventh of December until the new year. Against that, the Sun doesn't set between the twenty eighth of May and the sixteenth of July. That's why they call this 'The Land of the Midnight Sun'."

"So you have nearly three weeks of complete darkness." said Neville.

"Not quite." said Arvid, "On the darkest day, we get a bit of twilight around when it should be midday. Even in Svalbard, North of Norway, for instance, it isn't completely dark at midday. You do get a short period of 'astronomical twilight' at that time. Up there, the Sun doesn't set from the 17 th of April until the 26th August, so they get over four months of midnight sun."

"So you won't see the stars or the Northern Lights in summer." said Luna.

"They say that the best time of year to see the lights is around the Vernal or Autumnal Equinoxes," said Arvid, "When the day and night are roughly equal."

After their picnic lunch, the trio retuned slowly back to the lakeside, looking all the time for signs of snorkack activity. During the afternoon, they explored the remaining four tracks and finally returned to their campsite at dusk.

"I think we'll spend another day here before moving to our last location." said Arvid, "What would you like for dinner?"

"What choice have we?" asked Neville.

"Since we had fish last night," said Arvid, "I think we should have reindeer steak tonight. I set it to defrost after breakfast, so it should be just ready for the barbecue. Oh, I didn't tell you there's a freezer compartment in the car. Anyway, I'll set the fishing gear up at lunchtime tomorrow and we'll have some more fish tomorrow night."

Once again, after they had eaten their dinner, Arvid, Neville and Luna settled down to watch another spectacular display of the Northern Lights for the next three hours. It wasn't as intense as the previous night, but the red lower edges of the display were still in evidence. Another restful night was followed by a cloudy dawn. Once again, Arvid was up before Neville and Luna preparing breakfast. On this morning, he had prepared omelettes with mushrooms, bacon and onion. They spent the day covering the same tracks as the previous day, noting any changes. This time, it was Luna who thought she had found a snorkack footprint. Once again, it was a false alarm, generated by coincident reindeer prints. The trio had their sandwich lunch back at the car so that Arvid could set up the angling set. The afternoon didn't produce any positive snorkack evidence, so they called it a day at that location. Once again, the fishing equipment had captured three large fish. After their long day exploring the animal tracks, the grilled fish with deep fried chips was welcome. The weather had cleared, so they were able to enjoy yet another spectacular auroral display.

"When we arrived," said Luna, "You said we would have a lot of starlight. You seem to have provided something even better. Something neither of us have seen before."

"Well," said Arvid, "I know I said we have plenty of starlight, but I wasn't expecting such an intense solar storm. Most times, we can expect several consecutive nights without the Northern Lights. Then you can really see the stars."

At dawn the next morning, Arvid dismantled the magical tent and packed it into the car. The trio would be having their breakfast at their final stop. Once the site had been tidied and all were in the car, Arvid rendered it invisible and took off. They flew to another, smaller lake, with plenty of clear areas on its shores. They would spend two days here before returning to Arvid's home near Kiruna.

Once they had arrived at the new location, Arvid lost no time in setting up the barbecue and a small hob. The previous evening, while preparing the chips, he had parboiled some potatoes, which he sautéed for breakfast. He served these up with barbecued reindeer sausages and fried eggs. The next part of the morning was spent setting up the tent. The weather had held and it was another clear sunny morning. Once the tent was set up, the last part of the morning was spent investigating a forest clearing just behind the closest trees to the lake. They found plenty of reindeer tracks, but no evidence of recent snorkack activity. Arvid had chosen this location because there were several similar clearings within a mile of the lake. Lunch comprised grilled lamb chops with chips and salad.

"I thought you'd like a change from reindeer." said Arvid, "Tonight, we'll have fish again. This lake has plenty of big, tasty ones."

After lunch, he set up the angling set on the bank of the lake. After this, the trio spent the rest of the afternoon exploring three more clearings. They did find a few more coincident reindeer footprints, two of which required further investigation. Unfortunately, they were just coincident reindeer prints. When they returned to the car, they found that the angling setup had caught seven fish.

"It looks as if Friday's breakfast is sorted." said Arvid, "It's caught seven big ones."

Arvid placed the four extra fish in the spare space in the cold compartment in the car and prepared to grill the other three. As usual, he allowed Luna to supervise the grilling while he went into the tent kitchen to prepare the vegetables, chips and carrots.

"I noticed that you didn't use the ice box for the fish." commented Neville.

"The other night," said Arvid, "There was no space. Now we've eaten some of the food, there's room for the fish. Incidentally, did you like this morning's potatoes?"

"I did." said Neville, "They were really nice."

"Would you like some more with your breakfast fish tomorrow?" asked Arvid.

"Certainly!" said Neville and Luna together.

The trio settled down to their fish dinner as it was getting dark, then settled down to watch the sky. The solar storm had passed, so the stars were more visible with a lot less auroral activity. Luna was able to remind Neville about the stars of the Summer Triangle and recollected the time, just after they had met when she had showed him some of the objects through the Hogwarts telescope.

"I seem to remember that you told me that the brightest star you can see isn't the most luminous star." said Neville.

"Well remembered." said Luna, "Can you remember which of the 'Summer Triangle' stars is the most powerful?"

"The one to the left of Vega." said Neville, "I think it's called Deneb."

"Well remembered again." said Luna, "It's a the most luminous of all the bright stars we can see from here."

As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, after extinguishing the lights needed to eat their dinner, the great arch of billions of stars that comprised the Milky Way became visible. Since there was no auroral activity this evening and no other sources of light within several miles, they had a perfect view of the night sky.

"Well," said Arvid, "I did promise you starlight, and here it is at last."

Luna sat back and enjoyed the display of stars for a while, before she said anything further. She was seeing the stars properly for the first time since leaving England. Up to now, they had either been clouded out or faced competition from aurorae.

"There's something I didn't mention when I last showed you this part of the sky." said Luna to Neville, "You see that square of stars to the left of the Summer Triangle?"

"Yes." said Neville.

"Although it's called 'The Great Square of Pegasus'," said Luna, "The top left star is not part of Pegasus. It's the brightest star in Andromeda."

"If you watch the stars carefully in the early evening or before dawn," said Arvid, you'll occasionally see what look like fourth or fifth magnitude stars moving slowly across the sky. They are not shooting stars. They are artificial satellites put into space by muggles. They are between ninety and two hundred and fifty miles up and catch the Sun long after it has set at ground level. There's one - near Cassiopeia - see it?"

"Yes," said Neville, "It's moving towards the pole."

The trio spent the next couple of hours enjoying the stars, and spotting the occasional passing satellite. While they were watching, a couple more satellites and six random shooting stars passed over them. The last one was exceptionally bright and left a glowing trail.

"Wow!" exclaimed Neville, "That was a bright one."

"I've always thought of shooting stars as a good omen." commented Luna, "They seem to herald good luck."

"That's something we'll need if we're going to find the snorkack on this expedition." Said Arvid.

"What's the plan for tomorrow?" asked Neville.

"We'll start with a fish breakfast," said Arvid, "Then we'll dismantle the tent and put it in the car. After that, we'll explore a couple more clearings before returning to my house for dinner."

"Why don't we strike the tent before breakfast?" asked Neville.

"Because I need the cooking facilities for breakfast." said Arvid.

By this time, the trio were beginning to feel sleepy. Luna was yawning and Neville was beginning to have difficulty keeping his eyes open. Three tired people took to their beds under canvas for the last time, having enjoyed a whole evening of uninterrupted starlight.

The next morning was cloudy but fairly mild. The trio enjoyed a substantial fish breakfast before dismantling the tent and packing it and the rest of the gear into the car. They donned rain gear for the last day's explorations as the weather looked threatening.

"Do you think that wet weather will give us a better chance this morning?" asked Neville.

"It'll make the ground softer," said Arvid, "So there'll be a better chance of finding footprints. Otherwise, no."

Once the car was packed, they set out on their final exploration. By the time they had investigated the first clearing, it was time for their lunch. Once again, Arvid found some comparatively high ground, so that they could see across the lake. This time, the view was somewhat depressing as grey clouds hung low over the forest. It had not started raining yet, but Arvid was sure rain was not far away. Fortunately the trio were able to finish their sandwiches with coffee before the first drops fell. Their exploration of the second clearing was carried out in cold driving rain. Nothing was found which would suggest snorkack activity. Later, in the afternoon, they returned to the car and flew at low altitude to the nearest road. Arvid could not fly high because of the low cloudbase. They had to keep below two hundred feet. Because they had to use a longer road route, the journey back to Arvid's home took over two hours instead of the forty-five minutes it would have taken to fly.

When they returned to the house, Neville and Luna found a hot shower and dry clothes very welcome after all the rain. The rest of the evening was spent discussing their unsuccessful search of the lakes of Northern Sweden for the crumple horned snorkack. They had found a few weak indications of activity, but nothing definitive enough for them to consider prolonging their stay. Afterwards, discussion turned to the subject of the route Neville and Luna would take to return to Britain. Since apparating was still hazardous, they decided to use the same route they had used to travel to Kiruna. Since they would be travelling for several days, Neville and Luna made the most of their last two nights in Northern Sweden. Since it was still cloudy, although the rain had stopped, there was no incentive to spend the evening looking at the night sky. The couple had an early night and slept deeply until dawn the next morning.


	4. Chapter 4: Kirkenes

**Chapter 4: Kirkenes**

Neville and Luna awoke the following morning to be greeted by a fairly cloudy sky. They were to spend one more night with Arvid and Freja before catching the train back to Narvik. A lot of their final day was spent packing and ensuring the clothes they had been wearing the previous day were completely dry.

After lunch, Arvid drove the couple into Kiruna. They bought some things they would need on the journey and booked the morning train for the next day. The trip home was expected to take as long as their outward journey as Luna had her doubts about aeroplanes. During breakfast, Neville asked Luna about her reluctance to fly.

"Luna," said Neville, "You don't seem willing to fly these days. I know it makes for a more interesting journey, but what happened to stop you flying? You must have flown to get to India and Southeast Asia."

"I don't know." said Luna, "I just had this feeling about this particular trip. I know it seems silly, but when I have a premonition, I feel it's better to act on it. Not all of my premonitions come to fruition, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"I suppose so." said Neville, "Perhaps nothing would have gone wrong and we would have had far quicker journeys. Are you looking forward to the boat trip from Tromsø to Bergen?"

"Of course!" said Luna, "And I hope we have clearer skies than we did on the way up, especially since we're going to spend a day or two in Kirkenes before we go South to Bergen."

"Why are we going there?" asked Neville.

"There's someone I want to see who lives there." said Luna, "He is another magizoologist, and he claims to have seen a crumple horned snorkack a couple of years ago."

"Are you talking about Sigurd Jansson?" asked Arvid, "He must have moved right up to the North."

"Yes, I am." said Luna, "Daddy gave me his new address. He moved there about three years ago. I would really like to see him. Also, it means that we'll sail right up to the North of Norway. If we went any further, we'd reach Russia."

"That should be an interesting journey." said Neville, "How long will it take?"

"The voyage to Kirkenes will be two days." said Luna, "From Kirkenes back to Bergen will take five days. Then we'll have the train journeys through several countries back to London."

Following further discussions over several cups of coffee, Luna and Neville enjoyed their last evening meal with the Erikssons. For their farewell evening meal, Freja had prepared an 'English' dinner, roast pork with apple sauce, served with roast and boiled potatoes and greens. Luna complemented Freja on the way the meat had been prepared. She particularly liked the crackling, which was as succulent, crisp and brittle as It should be.

"I wish I could produce crackling like this." said Luna. "Mine usually turns out more chewy than crisp."

"The thing to remember," said Freja, "Is that the skin should be completely dry before you score it and apply the oil and salt. Don't score too deeply. Only penetrate part way through the skin. If the skin does not appear to be turning to crackling towards the end of roasting, I usually turn the temperature up about ten minutes before the end."

"Thank you, Mrs. Eriksson," said Luna, "I'll try to remember that. I guess I've been preparing it too soon after rinsing it."

"That could be your problem." said Freja, "Any trace of moisture on the pork skin inhibits blistering, so what you get is a bit leathery."

After the roast, Freja served up chocolate pudding with a very tasty chocolate sauce.

"You seem to know what I like." said Luna, "How did you find out?"

"Xenophilius told me all about your liking for puddings," said Freja, "Especially chocolate ones."

After dinner, over mugs of hot chocolate, the four discussed their forthcoming voyage to Kirkenes and watched some Swedish television. It appeared from the news that that day's flight from Kiruna to Stockholm was delayed and missed its connection with the London flight. 49 people were stranded for up to 3 days as all the London flights were fully booked.

"I said I had a premonition that something would go wrong with the journey if we'd flown." said Luna, "We'd have been stuck in Stockholm."

"If we had flown, we would have travelled on a different day." said Neville.

"And the missed flight would have happened on that day." said Luna, "Anyway, we might see more of the Northern Lights from the ship."

They also discussed Luna's meeting with Sigurd Jansson.

"We're going to meet Sigurd in Kirkenes." said Luna, "What's he like?"

"He's quite a jolly man for a Norwegian," said Arvid, "Especially living so far North. I think you'll like him. I should mention, he keeps quite late hours. I'll call him later this evening and let him know which ferry you'll be on."

"Thank you." said Luna, "That would be helpful. Has he got a car?"

"I think he's still driving a bright yellow Saab." said Arvid, "I think it's the only car that colour in Kirkenes. If he is still driving it, you'll find it's got the same mods as my Volvo and Arthur Weasley's old Anglia. By the way, what happened to that?"

"In his second year at Hogwarts," said Neville, "Ron Weasley missed the Hogwarts express and flew the car all the way from Kings Cross to the school, with Harry and Hermione as passengers. As they approached Hogwarts, the car broke down and landed in the branches of the whomping willow. It descended through the tree, ejected its three passengers, and drove itself into the forbidden forest. As far as I know, it's still running around in the forest."

"I'm not surprised it broke down." said Arvid, "That's nearly Eight hundred kilometres I wouldn't dare fly mine more than fifty or sixty kilometres at one go."

Before sleeping, Neville and Luna packed everything they wouldn't need the next day. Later that evening, Arvid contacted Sigurd Jansson to inform him when the couple would be arriving. He said he would meet them at the dockside.

Early the following morning the couple awoke refreshed and ready for the next stage of their journey. When they entered the kitchen, they were greeted by another substantial breakfast. This, they tucked into with relish, as they would have little more than snacks until they boarded the ship in the early evening. Arvid took them to Kiruna station so that they could catch the morning train to Narvik. The train journey went more smoothly than their trip in the opposite direction a week or so previously. They bought some sandwiches and a drink before boarding the bus to Tromsø. This part of the journey was uneventful and they arrived in good time to board the ship, find their cabin and make themselves comfortable before it set sail. Neville and Luna made sure they were on deck at half past six to see the ship move gently away from the dockside and sail along the fjord towards the open sea. The clouds that had threatened rain earlier in the day had cleared and the sky was clear. By the time the ship was under way, the sun had set. It was getting quite dark when the couple went down for dinner in one of the ship's restaurants. Once they had eaten, they went up on deck again to witness another wonderful auroral display.

"I know I love seeing the stars," said Luna, "But this is amazing. I didn't realise the sky could do such wonderful things. Look at those green curtains with their reddish bottoms. The tops are red as well, they seem to go right up into space."

Luna's eyes were shining, and her smile told Neville she was ecstatic. He felt deeply contented that his sweet wife was enjoying the auroral phenomena. The couple watched the display for a couple of hours before returning to their cabin. By the time they got up the next morning it was daylight, and the ship had left Hammerfest. As they travelled further North, snow was visible lower down the mountain slopes. There had been very little at Tromsø. They spent the day exploring the ship and watching the rugged Norwegian scenery passing by. That evening, there was another display of the Northern Lights, which they watched for a while. They went to bed fairly early as they had to be ready to disembark at Kirkenes at nine o'clock the following morning.

Once Neville and Luna had eaten their last on-board breakfast and sorted their luggage, they went out on deck to watch the ship docking. After disembarking, they walked back along the dockside. They had not gone very far, when they were accosted by a tall blonde bearded man with a ruddy complexion and twinkling blue eyes.

"I guess you're Neville and Luna." said the man, "I'm Sigurd. Arvid said you'd be on this ship. Have you had a good trip?"

"Not bad." said Luna, "At least we got to see the lights on the last two evenings. When we sailed from Bergen to Tromsø, all the nights were cloudy."

"That's good." said Sigurd, "It's a bit disappointing if you come all the way up here and don't see them. Let's help you with your bags."

Sigurd led the couple to the car park and located his car. This was not difficult as it was a really startling shade of bright yellow. Luna looked at it in amazement.

"I had it painted this colour so that it was visible under most conditions." said Sigurd, "It even shows up well in snow, unless, of course, I make it invisible."

When their bags had been loaded, they drove to a house on the outskirts of Kirkenes. As they were getting out of the car, they were greeted by Sigurd's wife, Linnea and her two boys, Axel and Viktor. Luna's ash blonde hair and ice blue eyes were not lost on Viktor.

"Are you Swedish?" he asked Luna, without waiting to be introduced.

"No." said Luna, "I'm Irish."

"What country is that?" asked Axel.

"Come on," Said Sigurd, "I'm sure our guests would like to talk about this inside. It's still quite cold out here."

After Linnea had made Neville and Luna comfortable in the lounge and provided coffee, while Sigurd unloaded their bags, the boys persisted with their questions.

"You said you were Irish." said Axel, "What country does that mean you come from?"

"Ireland." said Luna, "It's a big island to the West of the British Isles."

Sigurd had overheard the conversation and came in with a large world atlas. He opened it at the page showing the British Isles and showed his to sons where to find Ireland. He then turned to the map of Europe to show them where Ireland was relative to Northern Norway.

"What made you think I was Swedish?" asked Luna.

"Your eyes and hair." said Viktor, "You look very Swedish, like my cousin Louise. You're so blonde!"

"It's not only Swedes that have blonde hair." said Sigurd, "Anyway, I think our guests would like to settle down a bit before you two interrogate them."

Axel and Viktor took the hint and retreated to their room as they had some schoolwork to do. Linnea joined them. Neville and Luna spent the next hour or so recounting what they had been doing in the region round Kiruna during the previous week. They also described their overland journey to Northern Sweden from England.

"Did you see the Northern Lights?" asked Linnea.

"Not until Arvid took us to a lake about fifty kilometres from his house." said Luna, "Then they were really bright. I love starlight, but that was even better."

"Incidentally, why did you travel overland?" asked Sigurd.

"Firstly, the Ministry had warned that apparating between England and Scandinavia was extremely hazardous this autumn," said Neville, "Also, Luna had a premonition that flying might be problematic. I always take notice of her premonitions. Most of them are right, so we used the trains to get to Bergen and the coastal ferries to get here."

"Were there any problems in the air?" asked Sigurd.

"On the day we left Kiruna, our flight would have missed its connection at Stockholm." said Luna, "We would have been stranded there for up to three days."

"Yes, I think that's what would have happened to us whichever day we had tried to fly home." said Neville, "Still, we have had an interesting journey."

"And you've seen more of the Northern Lights than you would have done if you'd flown." said Sigurd.

"That's true." said Luna, "They were very bright when we were on the edge of the lake with Arvid. Apparently, there was a solar storm last week. Anyway, what is there to do up here? We're booked on the half past twelve ship the day after tomorrow."

"This afternoon, I'll show you round our small town." said Sigurd, "This evening we can discuss the snorkack. Tomorrow, I'll take you out of town and show you some of the scenery round here. The next morning, I'll take you back to the quayside to catch your boat."

Neville felt a lot happier now that a programme had been laid out for the two days. He didn't like too much unpredictability. Thos was the only source of friction with Luna, who could be quite spontaneous at times. Now they had finished their initial discussions, Neville and Luna spent the rest of the morning talking about geography with Sigurd's two sons. They were fascinated by Luna's description of her trip to South East Asia. Her portrayal of the warm rain in Malaysia seemed unbelievable to two boys who only knew cold rain and snow. Neville told them about the battle of Hogwarts. They had been told about it, but found the account of someone who had actually fought in it especially interesting. He was evasive about the killing of Nagini and blushed when Luna described what he had done.

Lunch was served. The family dined on a local marine pest.

"What is this?" asked Neville.

"It's called king crab." said Sigurd, "It's taking over the seas round here. It's a nuisance, but it does taste good."

"How did it get here?" asked Luna.

"Nothing much grows up here." said Sigurd, " So back in the days of the Soviet Union, Josef Stalin wanted to put some of his army just over the Russian border from here. Soldiers have to eat and the only possible food source was the sea."

"So?" queried Neville.

"The seas round this end of Russia didn't have much in them," continued Sigurd, "So the Soviets moved a large number of crabs from the North West Pacific Ocean near Kamchatka."

""How have they got this far?" asked Luna.

"Once the Russians had no further use for them," said Sigurd, "They were no longer being caught in large numbers, so the population of crabs increased. They started spreading Westwards and now they are the main type of shellfish along a lot of the North of Norway. They're a real pest. They eat everything they can find."

"Can't anything be done about them?" asked Neville.

"Short of poisoning them, no." said Sigurd, "And doing that would kill everything else, so we catch them, eat them and sell the surplus to the Americans among others. I believe you have a saying in England, which says 'It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good'. The crabs have killed our shellfish industry, but we now catch and sell them instead."

After lunch, Sigurd gave the couple a guided tour of the small town of Kirkenes. The first thing they did was to go down to the harbour and watch the Hurtigruten ferry sail out on it's way back to Bergen. They then looked round the shops in this remote outpost of Nortern Norway. The conversation inevitably turned to Luna's belief in some fantastic creatures. She outlined the behaviour of nargles and wrackspurts and their apparent effect on Neville.

"I think wrackspurts made Nev think I was attractive." said Luna, "Nobody else wanted to get to know me."

"Don't put yourself down, Luna." said Neville, "Your bright smile and cheerful attitude to life was what I found attractive. Your beauty was a bonus."

The evening was devoted to discussing their adventures with Arvid Eriksson near Kiruna and their unsuccessful quest to find any snorkack activity. They also discussed Sigurd's possible sighting of one of the creatures near Kirkenes

The following day, after a restful sleep, Sigurd took Neville and Luna to the place where he thought he had seen a crumple horned snorkack a couple of years earlier. Luna did agree that it was the kind of environment liked by the beast.

"Don't they like less cold places as a rule?" asked Neville.

"Yes, they do." commented Sigurd, "But I think that the ones up here hibernate for more than half the year. I don't even know if the one I saw has survived the last two winters."

"That's sad." remarked Luna, "You think they might now be extinct?"

"That is probable." said Sigurd, "After all, it was over two years ago I saw the beast and there was only the one. Anyway, it's good to know that some people are still looking. I think Arvid may have more chance of seeing one despite your lack of success."

"Yes, he did seem to know where the animal might be found." Said Luna.

Before dinner, Neville and Luna did their final packing for the long journey back to England. As a change from crab, the dinner consisted of reindeer venison with vegetables. The dessert showed that Arvid had told Sigurd about Luna's liking for chocolate. It was profiteroles with cream. Discussions about fantastic beasts and other rare creatures lasted deep into the night. Luna persuaded Sigurd that Wrackspurts and Nargles were real and not a figment of her vivid imagination. Before they spent their last night in Northern Norway, they had a look outside. The northern lights were obscured by cloud, so they went to bed and succumbed to sleep.


	5. Epilogue: The Journey Home

**Chapter 5: Epilogue, The Journey Home**

The sight that greeted Neville and Luna when they looked out of their window the next morning did not cheer them. The whole sky was a leaden grey and a mixture of rain and sleet was falling. When they went down for breakfast, Sigurd was reassuring about the weather. He said that he sensed that the sun would be shining by the time that they boarded the ferry.

"How do you know that?" asked Luna.

"It's been raining for most of the night." said Sigurd, "It should stop soon. The forecast is good from mid-morning onwards, so you should have a pleasant start."

They spent their remaining time before departure having further discussions about the fantastic creatures they had seen. At about ten o'clock, their luggage was loaded into Sigurd's bright yellow Saab and they set out on the short journey to the harbour where their ship was waiting. They checked their baggage in and it was delivered to their cabin. This was to be their home for the next five days. This time, Luna had obtained an outside cabin, so they would have some idea of what was happening outside the ship. She had also booked the voyage as a cruise, so they could take advantage of some of the on-board activities and shore excursions. As they boarded, the sky was showing signs of clearing and the sun was beginning to show itself.

Once they had settled in, they enjoyed the first shipboard lunch of the voyage.

"Are you glad we're on our way home?" asked Neville.

"Of course." said Luna, "But I'm disappointed that we didn't find the snorkack."

"What do you think our chances are of seeing the Northern Lights tonight?" asked Neville.

"Good." said Luna, "Sigurd said there had been another solar storm, so, given clear nights, we should be in for some 'fireworks', although Once we've passed Bodø, we will have crossed the Arctic Circle and we will be too far South."

"I've heard that they can sometimes be seen from Scotland." said Neville, although I don't remember seeing them from Hogwarts."

"That's because there are high mountains between the castle and the Northern horizon." said Luna.

The couple spent the afternoon familiarising themselves with the layout of the ship, which would be their home for the next five days. Part of this was to find places on deck where there was not too much lighting. After a satisfying buffet dinner, they returned to their cabin and waited for complete darkness. When they emerged, the sky was clear and there was a thin crescent moon setting in the West. Finding a suitably dark part of an open deck, they settled down to watch. They were not disappointed. The aurora was at least as bright as it had been on the night they had spent at the lakeside with Arvid Eriksson. After about three hours, they decided to return to their cabin as the cold was getting to them.

"Do you realise," said Luna, "That when we have breakfast tomorrow, we will be at our Northernmost point of the voyage. Seventy-one degrees North. We passed North Cape at night on the way up. If we'd made this trip in June, we'd have seen the midnight sun."

"Surely that means there'd be no night." said Neville, "How come?"

"If you remember," said Luna, "I explained this to you back in Hogwarts when we spent those cloudless evenings on the astronomy tower. The Earth's axis is tilted relative to its orbit, so, in Summer, the North Pole is towards the sun, so the sun can shine over the pole and a little way down the 'night' side of the planet."

"Oh yes!" said Neville, "I do remember now you mention it, but if we had come in June, we wouldn't have seen the lights."

The Southward voyage was uneventful. Neville and Luna joined in quite a few of the on-deck activities provided by the ferry company. One of these was the ceremony involved in leaving the Arctic, when they crossed the Arctic Circle. Luna mentioned that this was the southernmost point where the midnight sun could be seen. They As there had been an intense solar storm just before they left Kirkenes, they were treated to spectacular auroral displays on the first three nights. During their trip, they did enjoy some of the excursions provided while the ship was docked at the more important ports on the route. As they traveled further south, the auroral displays diminished but the mountain and fjordland scenery became more spectacular. The mountains were higher and steeper. A highlight on the third day was the navigation of the Lofoten Islands.

"I could get used to this kind of travel." said Neville, as they were sailing past the Lofoten Islands, "It's like a holiday where the hotel travels with you, instead of staying in a different one each night."

"Yes!" said Luna, "It's called a cruise, although these ships act more as ferries. Are you glad we chose this way of travelling?"

"I am now." said Neville, "I had my doubts when we first left Bergen, but I'm really enjoying it now. I get to spend so much leisure time with my sweet companion. I really think we're closer together now. I'm very happy about that."

Neville embraced Luna and kissed her.

"What was that for?" asked Luna, smiling.

"To show you I still love you," said Neville, "And for you being you. I'm so glad we're a proper couple after our time apart."

"That's true." said Luna, "Incidentally, going back to your earlier comment, we'll have three nights of living out of our suitcases in different hotels after Bergen. Once we're at St Pancras, we can hop across to Kings Cross, go to platform 9 and three quarters and apparate home."

"I'm looking forward to that." said Neville, "We can sleep in our own bed again in the full knowledge that there is nothing that can separate us."

"You said that you were coming to enjoy this kind of travel." said Luna, "How would you like to do this as a holiday?"

"I'd love to." said Neville, "We'd have no worries about whether we were going to find any fantastic beasts."

"Do you think we should talk to those two muggles we met a few years ago?" asked Luna, "After all, we're still very good friends with them."

"What, to see if they would like to come with us?" asked Neville.

"That's the general idea." said Luna, "I'd like a little group of us to spend time on holiday together. We'd have shared memories for all four of us."

"I'll contact Sid when we're back home," said Neville, "And see how he feels about the idea. I'm sure Cassie would be agreeable. When we were together before the conference, she took me on a Rhine cruise to try to take my mind off the conference. We both really loved it."

Once they had packed and reached Bergen, they were faced with the series of overland train journeys, ending with the Eurostar from Brussels to London. Luna had chosen this route for the return journey as she felt that Neville would like a rest from sailing. This part of the journey was uneventful apart from a very close connection at Hamburg when they had a to run between platforms. As they had planned, once they had arrived in London on the Eurostar, they were able to go to Kings Cross, gain access to platform nine and three quarters and apparate to their home in Bristol.


End file.
